Sarcoxie school board member John Lewis charged with possession of child porn

Friday

Feb 22, 2013 at 4:03 PMFeb 26, 2013 at 9:14 AM

A Sarcoxie school board member was charged on Friday with possession of child pornography in the federal district court in Springfield. John Lewis, 67, Sarcoxie, was charged in a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Springfield with possessing child pornography and accused in an affidavit with the charge of exposing himself.

John Hacker

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Sarcoxie school board member was charged on Friday with possession of child pornography in the federal district court in Springfield.

John Lewis, 67, Sarcoxie, was charged in a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Springfield with possessing child pornography and accused in an affidavit with the charge of exposing himself.

Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, said Lewis was arrested without incident prior to Thursday night’s school board meeting and remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing.

According to an affidavit filed in support of Friday’s federal criminal complaint, Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers contacted Lewis as part of their investigation into allegations that he had exposed himself to a group of high school students who were working for Lewis on his farm outside of Sarcoxie.

Sarcoxie Superintendent Kevin Goddard said Lewis is still a member of the Sarcoxie Board of Education as of late Friday.

Don Ledford, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Kansas City, said Lewis was still in custody as of late Friday.

Ledford said Lewis was arrested as he got out of his car to attend a school board meeting on Thursday night.

Ledford said prosecutors filed a motion asking that Lewis be held without bond. A hearing on that motion will likely be held next week.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.